With the 2019 NRL home-and-away season officially done and dusted, eight sides have seen their campaigns come to a close and now face the very long wait for 2020.

Out of the Tigers, Panthers, Knights, Bulldogs, Warriors, Cowboys, Dragons and Titans, who’s the most likely to shoot right back into the top eight next season?

We were joined on the Game of Codes podcast by Roar rugby league expert and editor Scott Pryde on the to look over this year’s crop of non-finalists and make some big calls as to whether who’s the most likely to jump back into the top eight next season.

There are some obvious candidates in this season’s three most disappointing clubs; Newcastle, Penrith and St George Illawarra.

All three teams had more than one Origin rep and would have considered themselves huge underperformers in 2019 – but what do they need to address to get back in the finals conversation next season?

Are there any other dark horses in the bottom half of the ladder who could emerge as contenders next year?